Louisiana wetlandsLouisiana governor seeks to uphold law blocking wetlands damages lawsuit

Aerial view of Louisiana wetlands // Source: commons.wikimedia.org

Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal (R) has asked the Louisiana Supreme Court to uphold the constitutionality of Act 544, a law passed to block the wetlands damages lawsuit levied by the East Bank Levee Authority against more than eighty oil, gas, and pipeline companies for the damage their operations have inflicted on Louisiana wetlands.

As the Times-Picayune reports, the measure was challenged on 3 December of last year by the 19^th Judicial District Court Judge Janice Clark, who declared the law unconstitutional. She found that the bill did not apply to the levee authority because it “is an independent political subdivision and not a state agency,” meaning that Act 544 does not apply to them. Additionally, she found that the law violated the state Constitution’s “public trust doctrine” which blocked the group’s right to “redress issues with coastal restoration particularly insof as those are related to hurricane protections.”

Attorney Jimmy Faircloth, acting on behalf of Jindal’s office, filed paperwork with the Supreme Court last Tuesday in defense of the law.

“We are pleased that the ruling has been appealed and that the constitutionality of the statute is being defended,” said Mike Reed, the communications director for the governor.

Others, however, hope that the Supreme Court will side with Judge Clark.

“This entire effort to derail this lawsuit and making oil companies fix what they broke is driven by the governor’s frivolous presidential aspirations to please his potential donors – the oil industry,” said Gladstone Jones, the lead attorney for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East. He is confident that the Supreme Court will see the unconstitutionality of the bill.

The levee authority first filed the suit in 2013 in the hope of forcing companies to repair wetlands or pay for restoration projects. While several energy companies have been removed from the suit, there are still eighty-six corporate defendants on the list.

The suit is now being fought in federal court in New Orleans. U.S. District Judge Nannette Brown has heard arguments about whether to dismiss the case, but has not issued a ruling yet.

Attorneys for the levee authority have pointed out to Judge Brown that even some within Jindal’s cabinet have questioned the constitutionality of the law, including state Attorney General Buddy Caldwell.

Caldwell has said that he will reserve his right to state constitutionality concerns in line with Clark if it is necessary, but declined to offer more.